My dad was a 1st Sergeant in the USAF in Alaska the 1950's, and he was a Sergeant in the US Army Air Corps when the Air Force was added as a new branch, and joked about how pissed he was because he had just gotten his new Sgt. stripes and the proper insignia and patches for his new assignment sewn to his uniforms a few days before the final and official change over from USAAC to USAF. But he made extra money as his company's in-barracks seamster and charged 25-cents to darn socks, and also charged a dollar a patch to sewn patches on other soldiers' uniforms when they needed it. They didn't mind, as my dad made damn sure everything was perfect for them (or they'd kick his ass). His jobs were lineman, electrician and engine & powerplant mechanic for the DEW Line radar stations and other stations in central Alaska and on the Bering Sea coast, as well as worked similarly for the remote Naval stations on the Aleutian Islands as ordered. He was originally assigned to a frontline combat support unit in Korea (motorpool), but he was pulled out of line while he was waiting to board the navy transport ship in San Francisco and given a new assignment in Alaska. Three of the six men who continued on the Korea without him were KIA, two where badly physically damaged, and one had bad PTSD after their company got over run. My dad was stationed at Eielsen, AFB and whenever the call would come in for work to be done at the DEW stations my dad always volunteered because no one else really wanted to (often dangerous flights in and out), and he wanted to see as much of Alaska as he could. He had crazy stories about military life back then, the crazy winter weather, the crappy WW2 surplus arctic gear they had to use for a while, the polar bears, the half-crazed men doing their duty in the remote stations and sites, and he loved talking about the amazing places he was able to go to in Alaska at Uncle Sam's expense. He ended his service as a 1st Sgt., was awake no later than 5am every day (sometimes earlier), went on to have a 40+ year career in Enterprise-class business computers and electronics, had an Advanced HAM radio license, Commercial TV license, Commercial Radio license, helped Alaska get it's first National Ski Patrol certification as a ski patroller, stayed married for 50 years until mom died, and never left Alaska except to vacation, and died at age 83 in the Matanuska Valley, Alaska.
I spent a year and a half up there in the 70s for the army. Back then, it was pretty much like being on Mars. Unless priority meant for us, we got most news from "civilization" 24 hours after the rest of the US and Canada. The hardest part was for us beer drinkers - something like 30 dollars a bottle in today's dollars. For the guys up there 20 years before that in the 50s, it must have seemed like Pluto.
Grew up in Alaska Flew over almost the entire state 45 years. As far as the eye can see the land is flat. According to the smart people we have a drop of 8” per mile From Fairbanks we should only see about 3200 feet of the top.
Fast forward to today… “Organizers spent 18 months studying the impact of moving the first pallet on the LatinX community, and a nationwide search was held for the first transgender project manager…”
My dad was a 1st Sergeant in the USAF in Alaska the 1950's, and he was a Sergeant in the US Army Air Corps when the Air Force was added as a new branch, and joked about how pissed he was because he had just gotten his new Sgt. stripes and the proper insignia and patches for his new assignment sewn to his uniforms a few days before the final and official change over from USAAC to USAF. But he made extra money as his company's in-barracks seamster and charged 25-cents to darn socks, and also charged a dollar a patch to sewn patches on other soldiers' uniforms when they needed it. They didn't mind, as my dad made damn sure everything was perfect for them (or they'd kick his ass).
His jobs were lineman, electrician and engine & powerplant mechanic for the DEW Line radar stations and other stations in central Alaska and on the Bering Sea coast, as well as worked similarly for the remote Naval stations on the Aleutian Islands as ordered.
He was originally assigned to a frontline combat support unit in Korea (motorpool), but he was pulled out of line while he was waiting to board the navy transport ship in San Francisco and given a new assignment in Alaska.
Three of the six men who continued on the Korea without him were KIA, two where badly physically damaged, and one had bad PTSD after their company got over run.
My dad was stationed at Eielsen, AFB and whenever the call would come in for work to be done at the DEW stations my dad always volunteered because no one else really wanted to (often dangerous flights in and out), and he wanted to see as much of Alaska as he could. He had crazy stories about military life back then, the crazy winter weather, the crappy WW2 surplus arctic gear they had to use for a while, the polar bears, the half-crazed men doing their duty in the remote stations and sites, and he loved talking about the amazing places he was able to go to in Alaska at Uncle Sam's expense.
He ended his service as a 1st Sgt., was awake no later than 5am every day (sometimes earlier), went on to have a 40+ year career in Enterprise-class business computers and electronics, had an Advanced HAM radio license, Commercial TV license, Commercial Radio license, helped Alaska get it's first National Ski Patrol certification as a ski patroller, stayed married for 50 years until mom died, and never left Alaska except to vacation, and died at age 83 in the Matanuska Valley, Alaska.
Great story
Amazing story, sir. Your father accomplished a heck of a lot for our nation. Writing this on Memorial Day 2024.
Your dad had a interesting life. I thank him for his service and Godspeed
I spent a year and a half up there in the 70s for the army. Back then, it was pretty much like being on Mars. Unless priority meant for us, we got most news from "civilization" 24 hours after the rest of the US and Canada. The hardest part was for us beer drinkers - something like 30 dollars a bottle in today's dollars. For the guys up there 20 years before that in the 50s, it must have seemed like Pluto.
Thanks for your service to our great nation.
Tell us more, really interested. What's going on there now?
Yeap , I have worked in Proudoe bay Alaska and that was bad enough.
Great film. On time under budget. The Soviets must have said america is protecting it's people, we can't compete.
Anyone notice the name of the Tug? 'Radium Dew' stereo-typically 1950's Fallout style.
I'm reading the invisible rainbow ATM, the Dew line was talked about in there, interesting stuff..
At 10:12 it shows a map that leaves out the provinces of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island!
Grew up in
Alaska Flew over almost the entire state 45 years. As far as the eye can see the land is flat. According to the smart people we have a drop of 8” per mile From Fairbanks we should only see about 3200 feet of the top.
Fast forward to today… “Organizers spent 18 months studying the impact of moving the first pallet on the LatinX community, and a nationwide search was held for the first transgender project manager…”
And now we've got HAARP and CERN and all matters of useless junk to deal with.